The British brand is strongly associated with right-hand drive copies of Jim's cars and with duplicates of Opel products. However, history knows the old independent developments of Vauxhall, for example, serial models serial models of Wyvern and Victor and SRV (Styling Research Vehicle) show car, which the Opel team never dreamed of.
It may seem that the photographs show a supercar with a pair of doors, but this is not the case - the SRV was conceived as a sedan-like cruiser over five meters long, only 1.05 meters high, and with giant wedge-shaped overhangs. “Designers have always loved two-door sports cars because they are easy to make. I doubt that anyone has ever been able to design a four-door coupe before,” said Wayne Cherry, an artist and one of the project's authors, who joined General Motors in 1962 and took the position of vice president of design in 1992. He did not provide for his starship entirely appropriate wings, but he used small rear "gates" that open against travel direction.
“The idea was camouflaged doors – you couldn’t see them until they were flung open. The understanding came that you had a four-seat car in front of you, and it was a real wow effect, ”continues Cherry. The original “vest” did not immediately master serial production - they were used only at the beginning of the 2000s on the Mazda RX-8 and Saturn Ion. A new and unusual solution turned out to be a well-forgotten old trick.
A 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with two camshafts was placed transversely behind the cabin. The result of an unusual solution for a sedan was a specific weight distribution with 35% of the mass on the front axle. An overly light “nose” could be loaded in a very original way by pumping fuel into the front 20-liter gas tank using an additional pump. At the same time, if necessary, the clearance on the rear axle changed using electrical adjustment.
The interior of the first mid-engined Vauxhall in history was also surprising. Rigidly fixed bases of non-adjustable chairs are included with the load-bearing structure. The adjustable steering column and pedal assembly made it possible to choose the optimal fit. The instrument panel was not located in the usual place but was a box trimmed to the right door panel.
The experimental Vauxhall was shown at the British Motor Show in 1970, immediately making it clear to the audience that nothing like this would appear in serial production.
Source: motor.ru (translated from Russian)
Images: GM; www.lotusespritturbo.com; vauxpedianet.uk2sitebuilder.com
